The Tyranny of the Urgent

If I had a nickel for every time I've had to go back to the grocery store a day or two after I was just there to get the things I forgot to purchase, I'd be filthy rich by now. Most of the time I just get mildly annoyed when that happens, but when I realized last night that I had to choice but to go to the store tonight ... suffice it to say I was more than mildly annoyed ... I was way more than mildly annoyed. I groaned when I pulled into the parking lot and saw all the cars ... I'm pretty sure everyone within a 50-mile radius of my house was at the grocery store tonight. When I finally found a parking place, I jumped out of my car and jogged ... yes, I jogged ... to the nearest entrance, grabbed one of those small plastic basket things and raced through the store grabbing the items I needed. And then I went to pay ... I simply cannot comprehend why in the world a grocery store would have only four cashiers working on one of the busiest grocery buying nights of the year. I stepped in line behind a young family, a mom and dad and their three children, and their full to overflowing shopping cart, gritting my teeth and steeling myself for a long wait.

"You look like you're in a hurry, and you only have a few things," the young mom said. "You go on ahead of us ... we're not in a big hurry tonight." 

"Are you sure?" I asked skeptically. "I would really appreciate it, but are you sure?"

"Of course," the young woman said, smiling broadly. "You go right ahead ... we really are in no hurry."

Several years ago, a friend gave me a small book titled "The Tyranny of the Urgent." For some reason, that little book has been on my mind a lot lately, and I couldn't figure out why ... until tonight when I was jogging back to my car after leaving the grocery store. That small book has been on my mind so much recently because I've been allowing the seemingly urgent stuff of life make me forget the really important stuff of life. That's kind of a big deal, you know ... to allow the urgent, "this has to be done right this minute" stuff become a tyrannical ruler that diverts my focus from what really matters. The tyranny of the urgent keeps me from listening to the hearts of others like I should ... it keeps me from seeing the needs of others like I should ... it keeps me from loving others like I should. The tyranny of the urgent keeps me running when I should be standing still ... it keeps me from being the person I need to be, the person I want to be, the person I was created to be.

When it's all said and done, what really matters most to you? Who really matters most to you? Here's the thing, the really important thing you and I need to understand about the tyranny of the urgent ... there will always be stuff to do, things that seem to be so very urgent at the time ... but people ... the people you love won't always be there, friends.

"Never be so busy as not to think of others." --- Mother Teresa